Backyard Birds: Spring 2026, Part 1

April arrives next week, yet winter has yet to fully relinquish its grip. We're riding a roller coaster of really high temps followed by several days of really cold temps. 40 degree temperature variations overnight are not uncommon. Some of our friends in Pennsylvania are simultaneously suffering from sunburn and frost bite. We run air-conditioning for a couple days then kick the heat on for a couple days. It'll be nice to have the temperatures settle into a sweet spot for a time.

And with Spring comes Backyard Bird Photos. Our backyard birds have been cooperative with more than a few posing long enough for me to focus and press the shutter. Here's our first bird-batch for 2026.

White-throated Sparrow

Carolina Chickadee

Brown-headed Nuthatch

Eastern Bluebird

Yellow Warbler or "Butter Butt"

Quick Personal Update

Karen and I are doing well. In April and May, several of our friends will bless us with the privilege of watching their dogs. Karen continues to sew for Newborns In Need. I recently returned from a trip to MMS for a candidate evaluation and have another trip planned to MMS later in April. I'm currently coaching five missionaries while overseeing two applications for service with MMS.

Over the next few weeks we hope to have a newsletter out and post more bird photos. I've been asked to feature some of my poetry and have had several poems and photos published in on-line journals recently. My sister and I have another photo/poem project in the works. It's just been too dark and cold these past few months for creativity. Sometimes you just gotta hunker down. And then un-hunker. WE could be reaching the un-hunker stage!

Shredding/Deleting, Dinosaurs, and Vintage Video from MMS Aviation

Shredding and Deleting                                                                                                                   As we move into 2026, I find myself unloading binders of material I haven't used for years, shredding, deleting, and reorganizing folders (manilla and digital) to lessen my administrative footprint. There are files on my computer going back 26 years with the vast majority of those files created in a format that will be discontinued this year. 

Dinosaurs                                                                                                                                       For context, I still remember 5.25 inch floppy disks which makes me something of a dinosaur. Dinosaurs (like old files) come and dinosaurs go. I've always been a Luddite (cautious of/resistant to technology), a "laggard" (one on the trailing edge of technology adapting only to the level demanded by work or to maintain a minimal level of societal/cultural comfort), and now it seems I'm an administrator on the verge of extinction. A dinosaur to be sure. Don't get me started on Artificial Intelligence.

Keith as a dinosaur.

Vintage Video from MMS Aviation

All that being said, it's one thing to be a dinosaur and it's another to be vintage. Something vintage remains interesting regardless of age and/or technology. In a recent journey through Windows File Explorer, I came across a digital folder of vintage MMS Aviation videos I put together years ago.

I've decided to share a selection of these little gems as evidence that my video productions, in these days of Hi-Def and wide screen format, have become truly vintage. Each is a vignette, a brief insight, into a moment or a project from my "old days" with MMS. Here's the first one: Air Calvary Landing Gear. The Air Calvary project was a complete restoration of a Cessna 207 used for ministry in Gabon, Africa.

Enjoy. 

Andy, the apprentice in the video, successfully completed apprenticeship and served in Africa with MAF International as a Aviation Maintenance Technician. It's interesting to note that this same aircraft is currently back in our hangar for another well-earned restoration. 

Bonus Bird Shot!

Male White-throated Sparrow